Thus Did Urijah the Priest…

2 Kings 15:1–16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20; Proverbs 18:4-5

Thus Did Urijah the Priest, According to ALL that King Ahaz Commanded
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof. And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. And when the king was come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered thereon. And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar. And he brought also the brasen altar, which was before the LORD, from the forefront of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening meat offering, and the king’s burnt sacrifice, and his meat offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brasen altar shall be for me to inquire by. Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded. – 2 Kings 16:10-16

King Ahaz did not worship God. He wanted an altar like he saw in Damascus and ordered Urijah the priest to build it, adding to and taking away parts of the altar that God designed. Urijah, the high priest, did anything the king commanded, disobeying the law of Moses. Moses was commanded to make the tabernacle according to what God showed him, and then the temple was constructed according to the plans God gave to David. God does not like compromise or mixture.

Urijah, the priest, followed the King’s command rather than God’s. The king ordered the changes, but Urijah is the one that made the changes.

This kind of mixture still happens today. Somebody sees something out in the world that would “fit” into the Lord’s work and perhaps make it more pleasing to the outside world, thus drawing the people in. The church starts to imitate that and, slowly, one compromise at a time, starts to look more like the world than the church God designed.

Like Urijah, the same type of compromise and mixture can happen in our hearts if we aren’t more tuned to God’s Word and God’s voice than we are to man’s. Urijah knew God’s laws, as do we. Each time there is known compromise, we have a choice to cooperate with the changes or to stand firm in God’s commands. We are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and we should take as much care of lining our hearts and souls to His, as Moses took of obeying God’s designs for the tabernacle and David for the temple.

Please help us, Lord, to see our own compromise and address it swiftly as You reveal these things. I ask this in Jesus’ Name! Amen!!!

Jesus I Know, and Paul I Know; But Who are Ye?
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. – Acts 19:13-20

His Understanding is Infinite
Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. – Psalm 147:5

The Wellspring of Wisdom
The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. – Proverbs 18:4

The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters [copious and difficult to fathom]; The fountain of [mature, godly] wisdom is like a babbling stream [sparkling, fresh, pure, and life-giving]. – Proverbs 18:4 AMP